get a grip on

Idioms  

1. Also, have a grip on. Obtain mastery or control over something or someone. For example, Get a grip on yourself or the reporters will give you a hard time, or, as Arthur Conan Doyle put it in Sherlock Holmes (1894): “I have a grip on the essential facts of the case.” This expression transfers a firm physical hold to emotional or intellectual control. [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

get a grip on

The legacy of TV as an entertainment medium—isn’t that what it was meant for?—seems far easier to get a grip on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

But successive governments have struggled to get a grip on defence spending.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

There are broader geopolitical reasons for the U.S. to get a grip on Latin America.

From Barron's ● Jan. 5, 2026

Iran appointed a new central bank governor this week, Abdolnaser Hemmati, who promised to get a grip on inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 31, 2025

I undress and lower myself into the silky water—my mother has poured in some kind of oil as well—and try to get a grip on things.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins